The Beginning

On June 29th Ashley flew out to Charlottesville, VA to visit with her boyfriend who was taking summer classes at the University of Virginia. Upon arriving in the early afternoon she felt sluggish, which is understandable considering she got up at 3:00am to start her day and had a four-hour layover during the trip. After taking a nap they went out to dinner. Ashley didn't feel too hungry. Later they met up with her boyfriend's friends. Ashley notice that her speech was becoming incoherent. Her boyfriend took her back to her hotel room chalking up the day's events as travel fatigue.

At 4:30am Ashley called us at home. Her speech was very labored. She said she was unable to sleep and her arms and hands tingled. We told her to call her boyfriend and have him take her immediately to the hospital. While quite concerned we reassured ourselves that they would give her a sedative and by mid-afternoon Ashley would be refreshed and enjoying her visit.

At the University of Virginia Hospital the admitting physician noticed symptoms of a neurological concern. We were called and they requested to do an MRI. We consented and were still confident that Ashley would be okay. A few hours later we received a call from a neurologist saying there was a problem.

Within an hour I (her dad) was at the airport waiting for a flight that would get me to Charlottesville. When I arrived that evening Ashley was mostly non-responsive. I wasn't sure if she could tell I was there.

The next day my wife joined me in Charlottesville along with my sister who is a nurse. (Sidebar comment: being a nurse my sister brought us great comfort in answering our questions and assuring us that the care staff took the right actions.)

Initially the doctors thought it might be a stroke, but the first MRI indicated that the affects to her brain were Symmetrical. That pointed to either an auto-immune or toxic response.

Ashley was immediately put on steriods since it appeared the myelin (fatty protein that insulates the axons, or nerve fibers) was affected. When the myelin is inflamed or damaged the electrical signals that travel along the axons can not get to the appropriate areas of the brain where those signal would be processed.

Ashley was place in the same Neurological ICU that Christopher Reeves was flown to following his horse riding accident.

For the next several days Ashley would mostly only respond to noise. Loud noise would startle her, but she would not respond to commands.

I began to email daily updates on Ashley's condition and progress from Virginia.

Here are the July Updates...

July 4th
Ashley is not out of ICU yet. She was just placed on a ventilator as a precaution, in case she would choke. Even though she is on a ventilator she is breathing entirely on her own.

Ashley had a good day yesterday (7/3). She was opening her eyes more and moving one of her arms more than just a 'reflexive' distance. We realize we are on 'Ashley' time. She is fighting to make those new neuron connections and it appeared that there were patterns to what she was doing later in the day. Her vital signs remain quite strong and we have every confidence she will make a full recovery.

Since they still don't know the cause (some of the cultures can take 5 days to show a positive indication) Ashley will be having a brain biopsy this morning. While any surgery is risky we have full confidence in the Neuro-Surgical team that will be involved. We ask that you pray for Ashley, the Surgeons and the Medical Staff today.

Today is Independence Day and for us that will mean Ashley will move one step closer to resuming her independence. We will never be able to properly thank all of those praying for us. Believe me when I say we can feel it all the way out here in Virginia, and we know Ashley does too.

July 5th
July 4th was Ashley's Independence Day.

Ashley came through the biopsy extremely well. Although we would have liked to have gotten an answer to the cause immediately it will take time, perhaps days, and in the end we may never no the cause.

What is important is that Ashley is fighting this. She was responsive very quickly after the surgery. She moved both arms on the 4th beyond reflexive stage. Her Grandparents paid her a visit and you could tell she recognized them by the increase in her heart rate.

We started posting the E-cards on the wall across from Ashley and I can tell you that Glenaqua has taken the early lead in the number of cards. I want to thank the Curry's. We did not even know the hospital offered this until their e-card showed up!

Please continue to pray for Ashley. We are all lifted by the power of your prayers.

Ashley's vital signs remain strong on Thursday (5th), so even though we do not know what the cause is yet we are confident that Ashley will have a full recovery. She has a wonderful team of medical experts that are leaving no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this and speed up her recovery.

Thank you all for the e-cards. We have nearly covered an entire wall with them. We love reading them to Ashley. Along with those e-cards please keep Ashley in your prayers for a full recovery.

July 6th
Ashley has had a big day this Friday. She showed improvement in both eyes response and motor skill today. We have passed the 100 E-card mark and believe it or not we fit them all on the wall that Ashley can see. If you haven't sent one, we will still find room for yours as well.

Now for some Austin news. He spent some time with out-of-town relatives, but he will be back at Glenaqua for prep team coaching, and based on scheduling, life guarding. It is likely he will be coming out to Virginia on Friday of next week for a weekend visit with Ashley, Mom and Dad.

While we still do not have an diagnosis we do know that the doctors have not discovered any irreversible damage.

July 8th
Ashley had a visit from her college roommate and another classmate from St. Mary's yesterday. They came down from Eastern Ohio. Once again we noticed a rise in Ashley's heart rate as she heard yet another set of familiar voices.

We heard from the Merz family who plans to head a little further south then originally planned during their West Virginia vacation. We expect to see them today, so upon their return they will be able to tell you more about where Ashley is and how wonderful the outpouring of support and prayers have been.

Please continue to pray for Ashley's full and SPEEDY recovery. It is not a matter of if, but a matter of when Ashley will recover, and your prayer support combined with Ashley's fighting nature have been the biggest contributing factors.

The Sun is starting to set over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

We can see it from Ashley’s new room view. That’s right Ashley has moved. She is out of the ICU and in a regular hospital room. As we have stated all along Ashley’s vital signs have always remained strong. (We can probably thank 12 years of year-round swimming for that!) While she is still in a ‘sleepy’ state she does not need constant monitoring.

Ashley had some early visitors today; the Merz family. They took a bit of a detour on their way to the New River in West Virginia. They drove all night dodging dozens of deer to visit with us. Shelly visited with Ashley so she can tell you that every E-Card from Glenaqua members is indeed posted in Ashley's room. They told us to expect the 'package' today, but I think that fact that Ashley changed rooms my delay that delivery to her until Monday. We are anxious to receive it.

There is no final verdict on a cause of Ashley's illness, but the doctors are leaning toward an auto-immune disease as the likely culprit. In all likelihood this is something that will take a few more weeks for Ashley to beat back, but then she will be no more likely than anyone else to experience this again. We are confident that Ashley will make a full recovery.

At St. Thomas Aquinas church this morning after reading the petitions they asked the congregation for special intentions. We asked for prayers for Ashley’s speedy recovery. I don’t recall being in a church that asks the parishioners to offer up intentions. It was just one more sign among a multitude that prayer is playing a major role in Ashley’s recovery and providing us with the strength to see her through this.

On a related note would you believe that the Charlottesville newspaper is call the ‘The Daily Progress’? That is what we are seeing from Ashley, slow though it may be it is still daily progress. We know we do not have to ask, but we will never take your prayers for granted. They are invaluable to us.

Please continue to pray for Ashley’s quick full recovery and return home.

July 9th
The ‘box’ from Glenaqua made its way to Ashley’s room today. We read every single card to Ashley. We immediately posted the “We Miss You Ashley” and “Glenaqua Swim & Dive” posters. We greatly appreciate the love that went into every card. What a wonderful blessing it is for us as well as Ashley to be associated with such caring people.

We learned today that Ashley’s daily schedule does not necessarily match ours. She seemed rather sluggish this morning. Turns out she was sleeping. Rather hard to tell in her condition. By mid-afternoon she was opening her eyes wide, and while she did not follow us around the room she was shifting her eyes and even moving her head slightly to see where we stood as we spoke to her.

Little things like that are giant steps in Ashley’s recovery. Austin said it was good to be back to the pool today. He appreciated the warm welcome back everyone gave him. Thank you for your unending prayers for Ashley’s recovery. They are certainly being answered, and we are ever so grateful to each of you.

July 10th
July 10th Ashley yawned today!

Until now she wasn’t opening those pearly whites for anyone. Her eyes were opened for most of the day. This morning she was placed in a chair (with a slight recline) for nearly four hours today. It’s great to see her sitting up. We worked with the physical therapist today. Ashley has managed to stay limber. Mary and I took a crash course in motion exercises and now Ashley has two personal trainers.

A thunderstorm rolled through mid-day today. It managed to cut down on some of the humidity that was hanging so thick since yesterday evening and restored the mountainview outside Ashley’s window. Whenever she looks toward the window we make sure the shades are adjusted to improve her view. The student volunteers that deliver Ashley’s E-Cards say they have never seen one patient receive so many. What is special to us is not the quantity, but the love and prayers for Ashley’s speedy recovery which is reflected on each one. Your prayers have brought us peace, and we ask God’s peace upon you.

July 11th
Wow, what a day!

We received the final pathology report on Ashley and they have found no permanent damage. While we may never no the cause (virus or auto-immune disease) Ashley has suffered demyelination which means a loss to the myelin sheath that insulates the axons, or nerve fibers. With those fibers exposed they are unable to transmit their signals correctly throughout the brain. The body is able to rebuild myelin easier than it can repair damaged nerves. As such Ashley can have a compete recovery. How long this will take no one can say. At this point we are looking into the possibility of moving Ashley closer to home. Right now the doctors here are conferring with doctors at the IU Hospital in Indianapolis. It may be possible for Ashley to come to Fort Wayne. We don’t know yet. Such a move could occur early next week. Ashley is not out of the woods yet. All of you have played an important role with your prayers for Ashley. Please continue to pray for a full recovery.

July 12th
It looks like Ashley will be coming back to Fort Wayne on Tuesday. We still have to work out the logistics, so we will confirm it as soon as it is finalized.

Ashley continues to open her eyes more. While it is difficult to say she is progressing each day, what is much more important is that she is not declining in her abilities. Initially Ashley will be staying at a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility in Fort Wayne. She still needs round the clock care and will being physical therapy. The doctors say that Ashley can have a 100% recovery. What no one can say is how long that recovery will take.

We continue to ask for your prayers that Ashley’s treatment in Charlottesville will speed her recovery and that Ashley’s determination to heal herself remains strong. Your prayer support has given us the strength to see Ashley through this challenge. We will never forget the outpouring of love we are surrounded by.

July 13th
We are coming home on Tuesday.

Ashley, Mary and I will be flying into Fort Wayne. What we don’t know is where we are going. It is simply a matter of the insurance company and the two facilities we are considering coming to terms which will happen on Monday. We have done our research and are confident that either one will provide Ashley with the medical and rehab care she needs at this stage.

Mary's brother and sister-in-law safely delivered Austin this morning. In addition to visiting with Ashley I acted as tour guide taking them through the ‘grounds’ of the University of Virginia (it is taboo to use the term ‘campus’ here). Austin will be back at GlenAqua on Monday.

For the first time Ashley reacted to a shot. She didn’t like it and pulled her arm away. It it the most deliberate reactions we have seen yet. It is yet another indication to us that Ashley is healing and on the path to recovery.

Ashley had a visit from another St. Mary’s classmate from the D.C. area today. We may be 700 miles away but Ashley has friends everywhere. Just now as I was typing up the update the musician in residence (yes this hospital has a musician on staff), a harpist, came into the room and played for about 20 minutes. The music was beyond beautiful. I never thought a hospital room could provide concert hall acoustics, but somehow Ashley’s did. There is no doubt Ashley heard the music. She moved more than I have ever noticed. As we get nearer to heading home please pray that all goes as planned and we are able to get back home on Tuesday.

July 14th
Ashley showed us again today that she is going to fight her way back. While it would be stretching it to say that Ashley has shown marked improvement over the last couple days what is most important is that she certainly is not losing ground in her battle.

We received reassuring feedback today from experts at Johns Hopkins. They have seen and studied more cases of demyelination then any other medical group in the world. They concur with the course of action that has been taken by the doctors here in Virginia. They will continue to be involved in Ashley’s case after we get back to Fort Wayne.

Austin and I took advantage of a beautiful day to go to Monticello (as in Thomas Jefferson’s house in Virginia verses the home of Indiana Beach). As we walked the grounds of the man who penned the words, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration of Independence I felt confident that we would return someday with Ashley. Those words will have a whole new meaning to our family.

Austin will be returning to Fort Wayne on Sunday with his Aunt and Uncle. Please pray for them to have a safe trip.

Once again we ask that you keep lifting us up as you have with your prayers for Ashley’s full recovery. You are the wind in our sails and God is at the helm.

July 15th
For the first time we saw Ashley track something with her eyes. I took a picture of her and Mary. I turned the camera around to show it to her. As I moved it Ashley followed it. She was fixated on it.

We also played the CD of pictures her friends sent. While her eyes would wonder away from the screen she kept coming back to it as the slide show looped through the pictures.

The highlight of our day was a telephone call from Dr. Greenberg from Johns Hopkins. He is one of the top experts in auto-immune diseases that affect myelin (the insulation over the brain’s neurons that were damaged). He was sent all of Ashley’s scans, biopsy results and medical data. He will be guiding us in making sure we get Ashley the right resources back in Fort Wayne for her recovery. Hearing him say that that Ashley’s chances for recovery, even a full recovery, are good was monumental. We are now being armed with the data we need to insure we develop a physical medicine and rehabilitation team in Fort Wayne that will work with Ashley to speed her recovery.

If the Pope and the President were calling I would have put them on hold to talk to Dr. Goldberg. In addition to providing us with direction on Ashley’s ongoing care and his willingness to stay involved, he also told us how fortunate it was that Ashley had this occur in Charlottesville. He said the U. of Virginia Neuro ICU she was admitted to sets world’s gold standard for emergency neurological care and diagnosis. Mary and I thank God for bringing Ashley here since this likely would have occurred regardless of her traveling, or having been at home.

However; we thank all of you for the events that followed which have been so positive. We owe it to your prayers that collectively are being answered everyday.

My vocabulary is too limited to express the gratitude we hold for each of you that have prayed and supported us during this trying time. We humbly ask you to continue the blessing of your prayers for Ashley’s full and speedy recovery.

Austin is now back safely in Fort Wayne thanks to his uncle and aunt, Dave and Julie. Austin brought a large basket full of cards, gifts and treats from numerous folks back home. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and gifts.

July 16th
Well folks it looks like our travel plans are being bumped to Wednesday. At first the hold up was getting all the necessary pre-certifications done with the insurance company. Then Ashley ran a slightly raised temperature (it came down on the next reading). The team here didn’t want to take any chances so they are holding her one more day while they run tests to insure Ashley is fit for travel.

As we have stated before, the entire hospital staff is fabulous. The social worker made sure we got the facility in Fort Wayne we wanted even though it was ‘out of network’ with our insurance company. The nursing, and related care staff, treat Ashley as if she were their daughter. The doctors display genuine concern and make us feel as though Ashley were their only patient. What reinforces this is the fact that so many hospital staff including nurses and doctors that were in other departments (ER and ICU) and no longer are caring for Ashley go out of their way to visit with us and Ashley nearly every day.

Ashley is looking around the room more. Hopefully that is an indication that she is processing more signals.

Thank you again for keeping Ashley and her full recovery in your prayers.

July 17th
Ashley’s temperature has been dancing around a bit. As such the doctors want to check everything and make sure Ashley is not sent home until they know she is totally stable. So far the tests have come back clear, so it just might be that Ashley’s own system is ‘playing with the thermostat’ as it goes about its work of repairing itself.

We keep telling ourselves that we are on ‘Ashley time’. All indications are that she is healing herself. We read an interesting short story on ‘God’s Delays’. One statement read, “Faith never gives up. It knows that despite appearances, all is well. It can wait without signs or significant indications that God is at work, because it is sure of Him.”

Our delay is to see if there is a possible infection (hospitals are a breeding ground). It is not that Ashley’s neurological condition has declined; in fact, I dropped the power converter to my notebook PC and the noise startled her. She reacted just as anyone else would to a sudden noise. She was moving her arm more today than any other time.

We thought we would be back in Fort Wayne today, and now even Thursday looks iffy given all the details that go into scheduling an air ambulance for a non-emergency flight. As such we aren’t going to predict when we will be coming back. It will be when both Ashley and God are good and ready.

Austin is going to heading back to Valpo following the prep meet tonight (Tuesday) to stay with his cousins until we know for sure when we are heading back. He doesn't like being away from all his swimmers, but its not easy with the rest of us away for so long.

Your prayers reinforce our faith to be patient with God’s delays. Please continue to pray for Ashley’s full recovery, as we offer up prayers of thanks for all the support you are providing us.

July 18th
Ashley laughed today.

That’s right she laughed. The doctors are not sure if it is just a reflex, or a response. My unscientific tests point to the later. She only laughed when something humorous was occurring. Only Ashley knows for sure. We will simply have to ask her later on.

Ashley’s temperature has moderated today and every test result that is in (they test for everything) has come back negative. We will get the final write up in the morning.

Hopefully the hospital’s social worker can get our flight arranged and we can back to Fort Wayne soon. With all the starts and stops on scheduling the flight we are referring to him as our travel agent now.

We don’t expect to ever know what caused Ashley’s condition, so we focus on aiding her in her recovery. We take solace in the reading from John 16:33 (Jesus said,) “In the world you will have tribulations; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

With your prayer support we will keep our spirits up and concentrate on the positive signs we see along the path to Ashley’s recovery.

July 19th
Other then a slightly raised white blood cell count the tests that came back today were also clear. Even so the doctors want to wait until all the test results are in. That means we are staying in Charlottesville at least until Saturday and it could roll into early next week based on scheduling the flight back.

Ashley continues to increase her movements. She is also showing more emotion, a combination of laughing and some frustration. We don’t know what is reflex and what is a deliberate reaction at this point. We keep focused on the positive. When we get Ashley to laugh (which we just did by dancing along with the penguins in ‘Happy Feet’ that is on TV right now) we cheer. When she expresses frustration we hold her hand, give her a kiss and tell her everything will be alright.

An EEG (electroencephalogram) showed increased brain activity from one taken two weeks ago. That tells us Ashley is indeed heeling. It cannot predict how quickly she will recover. Then again, we are on Ashley time, and God is directing that. Everyday Mary and I hear another story about Ashley being added to a prayer group and someone relaying a story about someone they have heard about that had her condition, Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM), and making a full recovery.

Thanks to all of you for your unrelenting support for Ashley. We are so blessed!

Please continue to pray for Ashley’s full recovery.

July 20th
Another Friday in Charlottesville.

Ashley arrived three weeks ago today. This morning when we came in the doctors had already visited with Ashley. They were a few doors down from Ashley’s room, but they waved at us to come down.

None of the doctors had seen Ashley laugh so they weren’t sure if it was a reflexive action or an immediate response to stimulus. We told them that when Ashley was in the mood she would react to something funny on TV, or us doing something humorous, like dancing to the ‘Happy Feet’ movie.

Well this morning Dr. Southerland decided to test Ashley’s sense of humor. He went in alone and, well, he got goofy. (Being a self respecting Neurologist he won’t tell anyone what he did.)

Ashley responded.

When he stopped she stopped laughing. When he simply walked around she did not laugh, but when he did his stuff Ashley responded appropriately.

The team agreed this was a good sign of making progress toward recovery. All week Ashley was awake for longer periods each day. Today she barely snuck in an hour long nap before being woke up for vitals testing.

She remained active the rest of the day.

While we know there is a long way to go we are encouraged by the steady progress. Please keep in mind the vital role all of you play in Ashley’s recovery.

Your prayers’ have power that we are witness to as we see Ashley progress each day. Your continued prayers for Ashley and asking God to give us the strength to see her through to a full recovery is greatly appreciated.

July 21st
It was three weeks ago this morning that Ashley came to the University of Virginia Hospital emergency room. We thought she was just suffering a case of insomnia brought on by a long day of traveling. We all now know that was not the case, and while we will likely never know what caused Ashley affliction we are thankful that it occurred when she happened to be visiting near one of the world’s leading neurological hospitals.

Ashley rested more today than yesterday. We did enjoy a good laugh with Ashley just now when we were flipping through the channels and paused on an episode of ‘Dog the Bounty Hunter’. After a few comments on Dog’s appearance by Mary, Ashley was almost bouncing off the bed in laughter.

We would agree that laughter is the best medicine. (There must be a lot of prayers out there asking that Ashley laugh more!)

Ashley’s temperate hasn’t had a high temperature reading in the past 48 hours so we are confident that we will get the green light to return early next week. Thank you for keeping Ashley in your prayers.

We say it repeatedly, because it has had such a positive impact on us everyday, your prayers are so powerful and are the reason we can cope and focus on what is best for Ashley.

Austin will be at the league meet on Tuesday, and will be returning (once again) to coaching and guarding.

Thank you everyone for your support of Austin while we have been in Virginia.

July 22nd
Ashley finished her preventative antibiotics today, and she is not running a temperature. Now we are just waiting to find out tomorrow when we can get a flight back to Fort Wayne.

After three weeks we are more than anxious to get back home.

Ashley was a bit restless today. As she progresses she sometimes get frustrated because it is not fast enough for her. Even so we did get some smiles and laughs out of Ashley today.

We know a lot of prayers were said for us today on the Lord’s day. Please say and extra prayer that we get a flight scheduled quickly and have a safe trip back to Fort Wayne.

July 23rd
Well folks, we’re coming home! Many of the doctors that have seen Ashley came into the room this morning for the announcement, “Ashley can go home!” Dr Southerland even revealed the special moves and funny face he made to get Ashley to laugh, and it worked again!

We were so blest to have this care staff and these facilities available to Ashley. As we have done research we have seen several cases where the diagnosis, and thus appropriate treatment, took several weeks or even months.

The bar has been set high for Ashley’s care in Fort Wayne, but we are confident that we won’t be disappointed. Once again given all the people praying for Ashley our faith and hope are strong.

We will be flying out of Charlottesville for Fort Wayne tomorrow. We will have Ashley settled in by late afternoon. We may miss the league championship meet at Glenaqua (Austin will be swimming) tomorrow, but we will be anxious to hear the results; especially a GlenAqua victory!

Once we get our bearings back in Fort Wayne and determine the visitation rules we will say were Ashley will be for the next step in her recovery. Please be patient. We want Ashley to see familiar faces and we want to see and thank each one of you. We would not have made it this far without all the prayers and support each of you have provided. That said, our focus has to remain on Ashley’s recovery and there are so many details we have to tend to upon our return.

The last prayer we will ask of you from Charlottesville is for a safe flight and for those that will be caring for Ashley upon her return to Fort Wayne that they use their God given skill and talent to aid Ashley in reaching a full recovery quickly.

“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.” 2 Corinthians 3:5

July 24th
Yesterday I said we were sending the last update from Charlottesville. Well, yes and no.

I just got home, but unfortunately Ashley’s temperature spiked this morning and the doctors said no go. The transport people were literally in the hallway when they decided it wasn’t wise to move her with the sudden high temperature. The good news is that Ashley is resting comfortably tonight. The bad news is she is still in Charlottesville and not Fort Wayne. More tests are being run to try and identify what has caused the temperature to spike again. On a humorous note Ashley has only had two spikes in her temperature and both came within 24 hours of being scheduled to leave. We are starting to wonder if she doesn’t want to give up the mountain-view she has out her hospital room window.

Mary is staying with Ashley, but we decided that I needed to get back to Fort Wayne. My company is very supportive and had no problem with me working remotely out of Virginia, but after three weeks it became difficult since I could not access our secure internet sites from the hospital. That meant I was trying to stay caught up at night. More importantly Austin was expecting us home a week ago. Although he was managing well it was time for a parent to be with him as well.

So are we disappointed? Yes, but of course we could not take a chance that Ashley might become unstable in the middle of the flight. It may be an ambulance plane, but it is not a flying hospital. We also know that on the road to recovery we will be facing other setbacks and we will simply have to deal with them. We have focused in on what Dr. Greenberg, the ADEM expert from Johns Hopkins told us. “There will be setbacks and your duty to Ashley is to minimize them when they affect her recovery.” The staff at the U.V. hospital is doing everything to minimize this setback. We are aware of many of the generous offers to assist in various ways.

We are humbled by the gracious support being shown by so many. We know we will need help, but as you can imagine we are thinking of little else but Ashley’s return to Fort Wayne and starting her rehabilitation. One effort we are supporting is a benefit being organized by the Glenaqua Swim Club. Ashley swam for, coached and has been a life guard at Glenaqua (near Snider H.S.) for several years. The event takes place on August 10th. You can learn more about it in the near future on the internet at: http://glenaquaswimdiveprep.wetpaint.com/ (see the link for ‘Ashley’s Benefit’ on the left side of the home page).

Right now, as always, we ask for your continued prayers. Specifically that Ashley remain stable so she can fly back to Fort Wayne.

As we look back on the last three plus weeks it is pretty much a blur. What we do know is that all the prayers and support we have behind us is keeping us going. We thank you and we thank God for putting so many wonderful people in our path.

July 25th
The doctors think they may know what caused Ashley’s temperature spike yesterday. One of the tests came back positive showing an infection. Normally you don’t get excited about finding an infection, but this means it can be treated and if Ashley responds to that treatment it will allow for revisiting the scheduling of her return to Fort Wayne sooner. Nothing firm yet, but we are hopeful.

One thing I do know for sure; Ashley will be proud that Glenaqua won the league meet. Way to go!!!!

Mary is not on her own in Charlottesville; both of my sisters drove out yesterday to be with her. My youngest sister is a nurse and she came out with Mary on July 1st. We can’t tell you how much it meant to have Beth there at the beginning. You see someone you love hooked up to multiple monitors and every time there is a beep, or change in a reading you wonder if there is a problem. You can ask the nurse, or doctor about it and they will be honest, but you can’t help but wonder if they are just trying to keep you calm. Beth explained what they would be watching for in trends and ranges. Other than Ashley’s two temperature spikes her vital have always remained strong. She also has not had an adverse reaction to treatment.

Please pray that Ashley responds to her treatment and that her transport to Fort Wayne can be rescheduled quickly.

July 26th
The third time’s the charm. Isn’t that the old saying? Tomorrow we will make our third attempt to get Ashley back to Fort Wayne.

Her temperature has moderated so please pray that it stays down so the doctors give the okay for Ashley to fly back.

Ashley made major progress today. She responded repeatedly to the request to wiggle her toes. She had to work at it; it wasn’t easy, but it shows Ashley is fighting hard to recover.

It will be a relief to have Ashley back in town. In Virginia the focus was on active treatment to insure the affects of Ashley’s auto-immune response were arrested. That has been accomplished. Now once Ashley is back we will begin the rehabilitation stage.

We continue to be encouraged by Ashley’s improvement. The combination of her determination and your prayer support are apparent.

We are humbled by the response and the involvement by so many in the benefit being organized by the Glenaqua Swim Club. Too often the negatives in our world seem to get the attention. What we’re seeing merely reflects the reality of the world we live in. Our world is full of loving and caring people. For more information on what the club is doing you can go out on the internet to http://glenaquaswimdiveprep.wetpaint.com/ (see the link for ‘Ashley’s Benefit’ on the left side of the home page).

Thank you for pouring out your love to Ashley. We cherish your prayers and support.

July 27th
Ashley was ready. The weather was not.

Thunderstorms kept popping up between here and Charlottesville. Ashley’s temperature has stayed down so the weather is the only factor at this time. There is a chance of rain tomorrow, but thunderstorms are not likely, so Mary and Ashley should be flying out Saturday morning.

Ashley will have been at the University of Virginia Hospital for 4 weeks. She will be leaving a second family behind. The staff was great; they treated Ashley as if she were their own daughter. We look forward to the day that we can travel back to Charlottesville and Ashley can walk in a personally thank them.

I just got a call from one of our family members who went to the facility thinking we would be there this evening. While she was disappointed that Ashley didn’t arrive today the staff did show her Ashley’s room and let her know that they are prepared to receive Ashley.

Thank you for your prayers for Ashley and Mary’s safe flight. Please repeat those prayers for one more day.

July 28th
Ashley is in Fort Wayne!!!

Mary and Ashley flew in at about 2:00 pm today. It was a smooth flight and Mary said the alternating view of the countryside and cloud formations was beautiful. The flight medical staff was very caring with Ashley. The paramedics that transferred Ashley worked thoroughly with the flight medical folks to insure she was set up for the short transfer ride.

Thank you for your prayers for a safe return to Fort Wayne.

We were immediately impressed with the staff at the Fort Wayne facility. They were ready to assess Ashley and they had already reviewed her standing medical orders. The personnel in Virginia really impressed. We are happy to report that our first impressions here are very positive.

Thank you for your prayers for good care in Fort Wayne.

We are so happy to have Ashley back in town and for our family to be back together. Tonight Ashley is resting comfortably and will soon begin the rehabilitation phase of her recovery. We had a few false starts getting Ashley home, but none of that impedes her recuperation. They were mere inconveniences.

Thank you for your prayers for our family to have strength and for Ashley’s full recovery.

July 29th
It was Ashley’s first full day back in Fort Wayne. She had visits from some relatives and we met with the Neurologist. It was a busy day and a good day.

For the first time in a month Mary, Austin and I were able to go to Mass together. It felt good to be back to the parish that has provided us with so much support. The Gospel was an affirmation to us; especially verses 9-10 (Luke 11), "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Tomorrow we will be talking to the Physical and Occupational Therapy folks about Ashley’s rehabilitation.

Your prayers and support have brought us this far. Now as we get to see some of the people that have been praying for us we are getting an opportunity to express our appreciation. We know that we can count on your continued prayers for Ashley’s full recovery.

July 30th
Physical and Occupational Therapy started today for Ashley. They did their initial assessment, reviewed the activities we were doing with Ashley and should continue to do, and explained some of the exercises they would be doing with Ashley during this initial stage. They have several exercises that they will involve Ashley in during the aggressive therapy program to accelerate her recovery.

Ashley seems to be settling in well now that she is back in Fort Wayne. Upon her arrival the doctors ordered up several tests to insure her physical health was good. So far all the tests are coming back with favorable results.

One area where Ashley is excelling in is her sense of humor. Sometimes even when we are not talking directly to Ashley she will pick up on something funny being said and start laughing. It puts joy in our hearts to see her smiling and happy.

We continue to thank our heavenly Father for the blessings we have received along the path to Ashley’s recovery. We pray and hope for the best in Ashley’s care. Each day we encounter more compassionate healthcare providers that through their words and actions provide us with affirmation that our daughter is indeed receiving not only the best care, but loving care.

We also are thankful for the prayers said on Ashley’s behalf by all of you. With every prayer each one of you is playing a major role in Ashley’s healing.

July 31st
Physical therapy is wasting no time in implementing an aggressive rehab plan for Ashley. They conducted a myriad of tests and we were surprised at just how responsive Ashley was. One therapist placed a brush in Ashley’s hand and asked her to try and brush her hair. Ashley complied, and while she couldn’t actually brush her hair she raised it to her head each time she was asked. Visually they tested her ability to follow different objects with her eyes. A small bag of ice was placed on different parts of her body to see if she would attempt to move to displace it.

We never thought about things like that to test her responsiveness. Of course that is why there are professionals. A blessing upon us is that these professionals have a passion for what they are doing. They are investing themselves in Ashley and it shows.

I registered Austin for school today at Dwenger. I received a warm welcome from everyone I encountered as I knew I would. I also saw the genuine concern on each person’s face. The school allowed the Glenaqua benefit for Ashley to set up a table to provide information, and upon hearing that the benefit would need volunteers for various tasks the administration informed freshmen and sophomore students that volunteering would count toward their community service goal. This is another blessing that we are experiencing.

When asked how Mary, Austin and I are holding up we always acknowledge that it is an emotional rollercoaster, but we also point out that the ongoing support we receive is nothing short of phenomenal. Everyday we see new signs of faith, hope and love. It is truly awe inspiring.

Thank you for your continued prayers.